COVID-19 Vaccine Card
Five Things to Know About Your COVID-19 Vaccine Card
Many providers are offering fun “I’ve been vaccinated” stickers or buttons for patients to share their excitement and encourage others to get their COVID-19 vaccine. But there’s only one official document you’ll receive after getting your vaccine and that is the COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card.
What is a COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card?
Your vaccination card is a record of what COVID-19 vaccine you received, the date you received it, and where you received it. It’s your personal COVID-19 vaccination record. While it’s not a legal document, and not the only record of your vaccination, having this information at your fingertips will save you a trip to your vaccine provider or local health department.
What if I didn’t get a card from my provider?
If you didn’t get a card after you were vaccinated, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends contacting the vaccination provider site where you received your vaccine or your state health department to find out how you can get a card.
What should I do if I lost my card?
Information about your COVID-19 vaccine is available in your electronic health record or from your vaccination provider (the location where you received your vaccine).
If you received your vaccine at a St. Peter’s Health Partners facility after May 8, 2021, your vaccination details are available in your MyChart patient portal. To access, click the menu button and scroll down to the “My Record” section. Select “Health Summary” and then the “Immunizations” tab. If you do not have a MyChart account, visit sphp.com/mychart for information on how to sign up.
If you do not have access to your electronic health record or cannot contact your vaccination provider directly, contact your state’s health department. If you enrolled in either the V-SAFE or VaxText program after your vaccine, you can access your information via those tools.
Should I be concerned about fraudulent vaccine cards?
Since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its guidelines to allow fully vaccinated people to go without a mask in most public places, worries around fraudulent COVID-19 vaccine record cards are growing around the country.
As business begin to reopen, some may require employees and customers to show proof they’ve been vaccinated. An easy way to do so is to offer up a COVID-19 vaccination card, which has caused a spike in internet searches for and website listings offering fake vaccination cards. In response, the FBI has shared a warning for the public on the making or purchasing of false vaccination cards stating people who do so are breaking the law.
Because the cards are made of cardboard, they may be easily replicated, but the information they contain is also easily verified. Information about a patient’s COVID-19 vaccine status is available in their electronic health record, from their vaccination provider (the location where they received the vaccine) or from the state health department.
The FBI recommends anyone who encounters suspicious activity may contact their local authorities, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services at 1-800-HHS-TIPS or the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center.
What’s the best way to keep my card safe?
Because the cards are made of paper and could easily get dirty or damaged, it’s important to keep your vaccination card in a safe place. You can put your vaccination card away with other important personal documentation in a safe or file cabinet.
Some office supply stores are offering lamination of vaccination cards. While it’s a great idea to protect them, if the cards have stickers affixed to them the heat involved in the lamination process can make them unreadable by turning them black. It all depends on how they were printed.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends taking a photo of your card as a backup copy but avoid the temptation of taking a selfie with it and posting it on social media. You might put your personal information at risk, according to the Federal Trade Commission. You can show your vaccine support on social media by posting a selfie, without your card but with our own “I Got Vaccinated” Facebook frame.